Traveling in Place

Puritanism Redux

“A dangerous movement, undetected by many, is now challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom. [This movement] must be confronted and stopped.” – Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the establishment of the “Religious Liberty Task Force” within the Department of Justice.

I serve as a pastor in the United Church of Christ, a denomination that in part traces its roots to the Mayflower Pilgrims who are celebrated everything Thanksgiving. This group of 101 religious “Separatists” (so named because they separated from the Church of England) had already escaped religious persecution in England by crossing the channel and settling in Holland, where religious toleration was the law. But since all sorts of other licentious behaviors were also tolerated by the Dutch, this devout group of believers decided to risk a voyage across the Atlantic to the New World, where they hoped to form a new community free to practice the Christian faith as they saw fit in what they believed would be a more pristine environment. They named their new settlement “Plymouth.”

The pilgrims’ understanding of “religious liberty” was simple. All people should be free to worship God as they chose. No one should be coerced to accept a particular faith tradition, but all should be free to express their beliefs without fear of reprisal. It didn’t take long for this principle to be tested. The pilgrims soon realized the New World was actually very old and populated by people with their own traditions and beliefs. For roughly half a century, the pilgrims and natives engaged in sometimes tense but always hopeful dialogue and a rich exchange of practices and ideas.

This peaceful co-existence would soon be overwhelmed, however, by another colonial enterprise just to the north. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was formed out of a mixture of commercial and religious interests. Puritans (not Separatists) came to the New World with the stated intention of creating a “New England,” purifying English religion with a more biblically-based church. These Puritans also sought religious freedom, but only for themselves. When confronted with the presence of natives, they were quite clear about their intention either to convert them to Christianity or drive them away. The Massachusetts Bay Congregational Churches were determined to create a new Christian society, a theocracy supported by local taxes. Citizenship and church membership were one and the same.

A Day with the Loons

On the first truly free day of my summer – just this last Wednesday – I decided to go looking for loons in the Adirondacks. I’m happy to say my search was successful. I hiked around Black Pond near Paul Smith’s, and spent as much time crouched or sitting on the shore as walking. I believe I spotted six different loons. I tracked one of them for better than an hour, and was rewarded when he swam within 15 feet of the edge of the lake, practically posing for my camera.

The next day, I told a group of pastors that I had spent the previous day “with the loons,” and one of them quipped, “What – you went to Washington?” Another asked, “What do they do besides swim and fly?”

The Commoditization of Everything

From time to time, someone who knows how much I love the Adirondack Mountains will ask me if I’ve been hiking lately. The regrettable answer has been “no,” though I hope to return to the wilderness before the summer gets completely away.

One reason I haven’t been to the mountains as often is because it’s been hard to find the time. But there’s another reason as well. In the last few years, the number of people traveling there from all over the country has rocketed to a level that is causing unprecedented stress to the landscape, and I don’t want to be part of the problem. The Adirondacks, and particularly the High Peaks Region, have fallen victim to social media. As hikers instantly post to the Internet pictures of themselves on the various peaks, people who’ve never heard of the Adirondacks suddenly become interested in replicating the experience for themselves.

Trail workers are finding it impossible to keep up with the increased erosion caused by overuse. The fragile vegetation in the alpine region that has been painstakingly brought back to health is now threatened on a daily basis by the carelessness of people who know nothing of the trail etiquette that has been instilled in more experienced hikers. In addition, rescue workers are spending more time and risking greater danger extracting people who have fallen, lost their way, dressed inappropriately, or failed to bring enough food and water. The Adirondacks are being loved to death. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that they are being overrun by people who don’t love them, but regard them as just another consumable product providing adventure and entertainment.

July 4 Blues

“I just don’t feel like singing patriotic songs,” a church member said to me a few days ago. She was one of several whom I have heard express, with some sadness, that they cannot get into the mood to celebrate Independence Day this year – not because they don’t love their country, but because they do.

July 4 used to be a national Sabbath – a day when everybody stopped working to pause, reflect on and celebrate the meaning of being a United States citizen. Sure, it’s been a time for picnics, backyard barbeques and fireworks, but always with the stars and stripes prominently featured in the decorations. Iconic images like the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and the heads of Washington and Lincoln would turn our attention away from our daily pre-occupations toward the larger vision of our founders.

The point I’m making is not that we used to be more civic-minded or better informed about our nation’s history – though both of those things are true. What I’m struck by is how July 4 used to be one of the few days when we were invited to turn our thoughts to matters of national import. It’s getting harder and harder to remember, but time was when one of the great blessings of being an American citizen was the freedom to go about the affairs of one’s life and trust that the business of the nation would be taken care of without our constant attention. We weren’t like other countries embroiled in civil strife, where despots and failed economies erased any distance between national and personal concern. Ours was a nation of blessed inertia. The delicate balance of checks and balances and various levels of government pretty much ensured that, even though elected leaders might be pursuing policies with which we disagreed, there were still basic parameters – or civic norms – within which the political pendulum was required to swing, and stable institutions that kept those parameters in place.

Jeff Sessions and Romans 13

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has managed to unite Christians as diverse as Franklin Graham and Pope Francis. He has won condemnation from delegates of the Southern Baptist Convention, leaders of several evangelical organizations, and all the major Protestant denominations. How did he do it? By quoting the Bible to defend the indefensible, totally inhumane policy of separating young immigrant children from their families who cross the border illegally.

Sessions pleads that he is simply following the law, and that the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13 that we are all “subject to the governing authorities.” Therefore, the policy is biblical. Sessions seems oblivious to the fact that this same passage of scripture was applied exactly the same way in the 19^thcentury to justify slavery. But he’s also a former federal prosecutor, and he’s smart enough to know how disingenuous his remarks are.

There is no law mandating the separation of children from parents illegally crossing the border. At issue is not the law, but how the justice department has chosen to interpret and apply the law. It is therefore a matter of policy. No previous administration of either party has chosen to apply laws protecting the border in this draconian way. Infants and young children are being cruelly and suddenly ripped away from their parents and placed in crowded, chaotic holding facilities. These children will likely be traumatized for life. The justice department has determined that threatening this trauma is a good way to discourage illegal border-crossing. Hit’em where it really hurts, in other words. (The policy is eerily reminiscent of candidate Trump’s promise in 2016 to go after, not only terrorists, but also their families.)

Whatever he says about U.S. law, Sessions is in violation of a higher law. And he’s compounded his crime by quoting the Bible. So let’s spend some time with the

Taking Sides - Or Not

I have a confession to make. I wrote the last post, “Character Matters,” two months ago, around the commemoration of MLK’s “Dream” speech. After I wrote it, I sat on it, and decided not to publish it. When I read it again a few days ago, I asked myself why I had chosen to bury it.

Here’s why. As a public person – and I acknowledge that by virtue of preaching a sermon every week, teaching at a local college, and maintaining a blog, I am a public person– I sometimes battle creeping discouragement because of the era through which we are passing. I pray that it is but a temporary phase, a backlash against more powerful positive forces that cannot be stopped. But I sometimes despair that, for at least the reminder of my lifetime, our society will be enmeshed in a cultural quagmire with no resolution and rising resentment, and I wonder, “What’s the point of saying anything?”

We’ve moved beyond hyper-ideology and polarized politics. We’ve now descended into an abyss of what many are calling “tribalism,” though I sometimes wonder if that phrase really captures the depth of our moral crisis. I prefer to call it “side-ism.” It has nothing to do with a political philosophy, social agenda, or set of civic principles. All of us are being reduced to what “side” we are on. When people speak publicly, their words are not judged on their merits. The only serious consideration is, “Is he/she on my side?” Any language, vocabulary, or even tone of voice that indicates the person speaking is on the wrong side is reason to summarily dismiss everything being said. And sadly, “side-ism” also allows us to spew toxic venom (think Roseanne Barr and Samantha Bee) because everybody on the same side will tolerate it, or even cheer it.

What are the sides? It is tempting to say there are only two: “Pro-Trump” and “Anti-Trump.” The President got elected by taking the side of some Americans against other Americans. I believe he was genuinely surprised that this worked.

Character Matters

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

These are among the most memorable words of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech from the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Of course, he was talking entirely about race, and specifically about discrimination against Americans of African descent, and his words are no less important today than they were then.

But it is troubling and ironic that at this moment in our history, “the content of one’s character” is no longer considered the ideal measure of any person. I used to believe that conservative Christians placed too muchemphasis on the “character” of elected officials and not enough on actual policy positions. They came across as prudish, overly concerned with sexuality and private morality, and more interested in protecting the pre-born than in the quality of life between birth and death. Never would I have imagined that just one generation later, these same conservative Christians would decide that “character” in elected leaders counts for little or nothing.

When President Bill Clinton was revealed as having engaged in a consensual affair with a White House Intern, Faith and Freedom President Ralph Reed said, “We care about the conduct of our leaders and we will not rest until we have leaders of good moral character.”

The very same Ralph Reed, however, advised conservative Christians in 2016 not to pay much attention to the incontrovertible evidence of candidate Donald Trump’s bad behavior toward women. The infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, he said, “should rank low on their hierarchy of concerns.” Questioned about revelations of an extra-marital affair with a porn star, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said he was giving Trump a “mulligan...a do-ever.”

Weeping and Rejoicing

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15)

I’ve been reflecting over the past week about how, in the life of the church, we learn to weep and rejoice at the same time. It is nearly always the case that some part of our body is experiencing great sadness while another part is filled with joy. We do not get to choose which of these we will focus on. Paul’s admonition does not contain the word “or.” We simultaneously rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

This is one of the precious realities of being a community of faith, and it was put in sharp relief for me recently when we learned of the death of a beloved church member at the same time we anticipated the confirmation of three of our teens on Pentecost Sunday.

Many of us were heartbroken over a great loss, and we wept as we prepared for her funeral. But we did not let our grief diminish the joy we felt for three young men making their professions of faith. On Pentecost, worship was festive, celebrative, and joyous, even though many of us were feeling the sting of loss. And then, two days later, we gathered again for a service filled with tears, but many of us were still remarking about the blessing of Sunday’s worship, as well as noting how good it was to gather in faith, giving thanks to God for someone who has been a great blessing to so many. Functioning as the body of Christ, we rejoiced and wept all at once. It’s what we do.

What is true for our congregation is true for the world. Tragedy somewhere breaks hearts every day. But blessings continue to overflow. As God’s people, we lament all that is wrong and, rather than shield ourselves from the world’s sorrows with saccharine piety, we weep. But our tears do not diminish the joy that is always with us, and that causes us to note all the signs of God’s amazing grace. Because we are able to weep andrejoice, we bear witness to the compassionate presence of God at work in all circumstances. We are hope. We are love. 

©2018 by J. Mark Lawson

Couldn't Look Away

I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard this confession, or something very similar, in the last few months.

I have to check in with (insert favorite cable news channel here) every day, because so much is happening that I’m afraid I’m going to miss something. When I start watching, I can’t stop. Even though I know I’m just listening to the same things over and over again, I keep hoping I’m going to hear something that will help me feel better about what’s going on. But it never gets better, and I keep watching.

I completely understand. “Advocacy journalism,” which has both helped to create and benefited from a highly polarized political environment, has become a powerfully addictive consumer product. Millions of Americans spend hours in front of the television getting their fix. The “news” typically amounts to one or two significant stories that you can digest in a few minutes. But advocacy journalism has managed to create the false impression that news is breaking all the time, and if you turn away, you’ll miss it. In reality, what is treated as news is what somebody said aboutthe news. The news is the news, dissected, re-packaged, and repeated by different talking heads. This phenomenon used to be limited to the right side of the political spectrum, first mastered by the Fox News Network. Now, it’s an industry that covers every partisan and ideological perspective.

I’m hearing confessions like the one above more frequently now, because more and more people are realizing that, in their effort to better understand what’s happening, they have fallen into an addiction. They are beginning to look critically at their own TV viewing habits, trying to discern the difference between staying informed and drowning in partisan claptrap.

I was reminded of this media addiction – this inability to “look away” – when I was outside yesterday. Our stubborn, lingering winter has finally given way to a gorgeous Spring, and on sunny warm days, lots of us have been getting outside – working in our yards, walking, biking, or just sitting on the deck with a good book.

Already but Not Yet

If spring is the time when Mother Nature wakes up from winter, she’s hit the snooze button several times this year. Actually, she got a bit restless back in February and acted like she was getting up early, then went back to sleep.

The Vernal Equinox represented the official arrival of spring back in March. But we’ve been waiting ever since to see the evidence – sometimes while we are driving through white-outs from sudden snow showers. I wonder if we are feeling at all how the disciples of Jesus felt in those days between Jesus’ departure into heaven and the Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. Just before his ascension, the disciples asked Jesus, “Is thisthe time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” They had been waiting since Jesus’ resurrection for some sign of the consummation of the kingdom, but as yet, nothing had changed. Jesus, in fact, had said that the kingdom was already among them. But clearly, it was not yet fulfilled.

Then, the Holy Spirit came upon those waiting disciples and lots of things started happening. The disciples were channeling the very power of the risen Christ with their preaching, teaching, and healing. Thousands were responding to their message of God’s forgiveness, and the church was born.

But even all the heady excitement of those early years of the church movement did not bring about the fulfillment of God’s reign. In fact, we are still waiting.